


The Other Twin Peaks

by thebigbengal



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Gen, Kinda sorta maybe, Outright season 3 spoilers, Post-Season/Series 03, The Final Dossier, okay, potential season 3 spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 03:47:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14662671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thebigbengal/pseuds/thebigbengal
Summary: Things never truly change. Details are switched and forgotten, or moved slightly, but we are all ultimately brought down the same path.





	The Other Twin Peaks

**Author's Note:**

> This is a glimpse into the alternate timeline Cooper created when he saved Laura in Part 17 of the Return. A couple of these entries have been ripped directly from the show and the "Diane..." audiotapes, with some slight changes here and there. The Final Dossier says that basically everything remained the same, aside from Leland committing suicide a year later and Laura's fate, but some liberties are taken just to explore how much was affected (and because Laura's not dead in this, some things like the funeral and morgue scene wouldn't have happened).

February 24th

 

Diane, 9 AM, preparing to board flight 210, commuter flight, fifteen seater. Arriving in Spokane 10:15 AM. One meal, breakfast: eggs, sausage, toast, jam, juice, and the usual coffee-scented hot water. What airlines do to coffee shouldn’t happen to a dog. So, I’m packing a hot thermos from the commissary.

Case number is “1121-Niner.” You’ll have a copy of the file on your desk by the time you receive this. Missing person: seventeen year old white female. Disappeared last night without a trace. Says here she was the homecoming queen. Potentially related assault victim found across the state line, which is why it's our business now. Suspects are in custody.

Diane, I understand the air is so clear out where I’m going, you can see across two states, when it’s not raining. Which is most of the time. So, I’ve packed a pair of the businessman’s friend: totes for the feet!

I’ve been scanning active files for the region. A murder last year of one, Teresa Banks, in the southwest corner of the state. Had all the trappings of a serial killing, except for one - a second body. Not much in relation to this case, save for the fact that Teresa Banks’ murder occurred a year ago almost to the day.

 

[Later, in the Twin Peaks Sheriff Department]

 

Diane, I’ve just opened Laura Palmer’s diary. This is the, uh… the last entry, dated “February 23rd.” It reads… “Asparagus for dinner again. I hate asparagus. Does this mean I’ll never grow up?” … And then she’s written, “Nervous about meeting ‘J’ tonight.” That’s the letter “J,” Diane.

… “J” … hmm… And that is the last entry. Well, that’s something to get started on.

 

Truman: Yeah, that’s one outta twenty-six.

 

Cooper: Yeah, one outta twenty-six…

 

Diane, I’ve just turned back eighteen days to day one. What we have taped to the page, here, is a plastic envelope containing a white residue, and what looks to be a key to a safety deposit box.

[To Truman] Sheriff, after you carefully remove this key, I’m gonna run this envelope, and my bet is, it’ll test positive for cocaine.

 

Truman: That’s impossible.

 

Cooper: You ever been surprised before?

 

Truman: Mr. Cooper, you didn’t know Laura Palmer.

 

Cooper: Let’s get started on a court order to open that safety deposit box and maybe we’ll both find out a few things about Laura Palmer.

 

_(Silence)_

 

Diane, I’m holding in my hand a small box of chocolate bunnies.

 

Diane, 9:30 PM. Night has fallen hard in Twin Peaks. You’re not going to believe this, but I’m actually looking at the Milky Way, which I can’t recall seeing before in quite this extraordinary way. The night is painted with stars.

I’ve just finished addressing the local citizenry of the need for caution, pulling together at a time like this. I've heard missing persons cases are a lot like finding a needle in 700 haystacks, so it’s always best to bring a couple magnets. Now that we’ve gathered enough intel, we’ll put together a search party, ASAP.

Have a list of people I’m going to want some background checks on, including a lady who carries a log. Call her “The Log Lady.”

One suspect remains at large: James Hurley, a young biker who was secretly seeing Laura behind her boyfriend’s back, a blowhard named Bobby Briggs. I anticipate that James will be in custody within the hour. If there is anyone that would have the best idea of what happened to Laura, it would be him. It's not uncommon for teenagers to run off in the middle of passionate affairs. Hopefully, this is just a case of a runaway school girl.

But, this town is like a river, lots of hidden currents and eddies, concealing their own secrets. I haven’t even broken the surface yet.

 

* * *

 

February 25th

 

Diane, 12:20 AM. Just as I had predicted. James was found with Donna Hayward late last night on Sparkwood road. We brought him in and proceeded with standard questioning. He informed us that he was indeed with Laura the night of her disappearance, and may have in fact been the last person to see her. She had called James that evening and he picked her up outside of her house. Later, James recalls Laura acting strangely, and then running off into the woods right off Sparkwood and 21, where he did not pursue. Laura's behavior may have been influenced by the cocaine, that night. Normally, this would make the suspect all the more suspicious, but I believe James is indeed telling the truth, and had nothing directly to do with Laura’s disappearance.

We’ll begin the search there. 

Ronette Pulaski’s condition has not changed. Maybe this will shed some light on her situation.

 

* * *

 

February 26th

 

Diane, 1:33 AM. Back in my hotel room. Will need to thank Harry again for the discount.

The search was as productive as you might have guessed. No signs of Laura, but we didn’t go without some new discoveries. We came across an abandoned train car left on it’s tracks, the same tracks Ronette must have followed while in a daze. Inside: two sets of footprints, rope, and blood stains. The rope matched Ronette's bindings, and the blood is currently being run by the lab. One set of footprints suggests that of a small, young woman, almost certainly Ronette. The other set looks to have been left by a pair of work shoes. Only one set of fingerprints was found, and they also belonged to Ronette. The attacker must have been wearing gloves.

The immediate and obvious assumption would be that Ronette Pulaski was abducted the night Laura went missing, a curious coincidence, if such a thing even exists. While abduction was already on the table, evidence shows it as a strong possibility, if not the actual case. Who these people were, and if it was the same person or not, has yet to be determined. Either way, with knowledge of this as a possible kidnapping, I'm gonna need some back up. Albert and his team would be the obvious choice. 

The party consisted of Sheriff Truman, Deputies Hawk and Andy Brennan, the rest of the department, Ed and James Hurley, Pete Martell, and Donna and Doctor Hayward. Local quack Doctor Jacoby would have joined us, but as he put it, he had “a thing” to get to. Bobby Briggs joined seemingly out of obligation and nearly tore into James just on sight. We were sure to keep them at a distance from each other. I asked Harry not to bring the parents, Sarah and Leland Palmer, as the search might've been too much for them to handle.

Our flashlights were next to no good. I had no idea a night on Earth could be this black. We all adhered to some semblance of a path, and still found ourselves frequently needing to pause and reconvene. Laura would have ran off around that time. And if James’ story is any indication, she didn’t have a flashlight on her. Ronette was deep into the woods, but had the railroad tracks to follow. Laura… I’m not so sure. The thought concerns me, greatly.

Will continue searching within that area, and take consideration of surrounding areas. If push comes to shove, and crossing the border becomes a necessity, I'll need to get jurisdiction from the bureau.

She's out there somewhere, Diane. People don't just vanish into thin air.


End file.
